.50 cal ammo boxes work well for hauling chains around too-even the 20' 3/8" chains I use for tying down cars on my scrap trailer.
if its truely a period tool kit ,that better be a roll of bailing wire up in the right corner. better go cut a chunk of garden hose to make an oklahoma credit card too.
Looks like Plomb is the official tool supplier to the HAMB...I had no idea I was part of a widespread cult!\ Probably half of mine are WWII veterans. http://plombtools.com/default.aspx http://home.comcast.net/~alloy-artifacts/plomb-gallery.html http://www.stanleyproto.com/xhtml/interactive_100anniversary/index.html
I think the more important issue than being "period" is the simplicity of the set. hats off to the ladies and gents who can fit all the necesities into an ammo box, a small one.
$25.00 took all of this and the Ammo Box it was in from the pawn shop. I ended up buying some more boxes at $1 a piece, and using one just for my sockets. But their really about the best storage container/tool box ever made. About the best tools I've ever had to.
I have a surplus aircraft mechanic bag, about the same size as a can, but soft. No outies from sliding around, and perfect in the Customs or in the Miata's. Ryan, its just not right not having a good old Ford wrench. Snap on still sells em, but mine had to have script!
I have this little set from WWII that is 9/32 drive (looks like 1/4" drive, but its larger). The sockets are engraved "USAF", and I have read that the 9/32" drive was used by the military to prevent people from trying to take home tools, but in reality, the "mini" system developed by Snap On in 1925, 1/2" from them came later. One socket is date coded 1942.
carried mine around in a vintage Erector set tin box just in case .. it was also slim and fit under the seat real well i am not seeing a 6-12 volt test light in these kits???? seems pretty important to me to always carry one
Love this post. Don't have the 'period correct box' just yet but most of the same tools. I alos can't live without Duct tape. That stuff is indestructible. and works for almost anything. Stops leaks too. At least for a little while.
Ya, bring on the "Ammo Box" article. It's a great use like you show, for the roadside tool kit. I use two of them. One for my pinstriping kit (it keeps the vapors INSIDE! heck with keeping water out, hahaha), it's a bigger box that held explosive shells. The Vietnam Vet I bought it from said they used to use that size in between the seats on a Jeep as a cooler for beer. The second box is the small one like you showed in the picture, and it holds my sketching kit. Heck, after your article, I might actually know what to correctly call them instead of the big one and the small one.
having spent alot of time travelling with a 28 roadster, space is of high value, so unless you can incorporate your box into the decore gracefully, I too recommend the 'soft' bag approach, as this allows you to squeeze the tools into 'voids', with minimal damage. Having said that, I've also found that breaking the kit into two parts is a magor advantage, with a small easily accessable kit that has the very basic and most used tools (like a shifter, screwdriver, pliers/sidecutters, tape and zip ties), and another set that is a bit more comprehensive, stored in a more 'out of the way' area for those 'bad' times. If you do ya kit this way, you can put the 'less used' tools in a box that is strapped in, and the 'quick' kit under the seat. One last suggestion, in your box, throw in a couple spare (and clean) rags, as this will quench a few rattles, and give you something to wipe ya hands with should you actually need to use the tools... Cheers, Drewfus
My dad was about to throw out a wooden ammo box that he had laying around. That's been my toolbox for years! Not as organised as Ryan's little number, and the only thing period is the box itself! Very cool Ryan, don't get that stuff dirty though! LOL
I have a non digital mulitmeter in my kit, I use it to time my distributor as well. To the untrained eye it looks like a marker light housing and bulb with two alligator clips attached at the end for checking 98% of my electrical needs.
I'm going to show my nerdiness for a minute here. I used to collect military surplus. Your socket bag appears to be an M1910 mess kit bag. Probably the slots that hold your driver and extensions were for the utinsils and the big compartment was for the mess tin itself. The loops on the outside are for mounting the entrenching tool. Cool post. I would enjoy one on the ammo cans, I've got a rather large collection myself. Mine are mostly Vietnam era with a few WWII for good measure. -Dave
Now...can anyone find and scan the Bishop article in the old American Rodder describing the stuff under the seat of Tardel's '32??? He was prepared not only to fix the car but to live off the land through the apocalypse, probably by killing and eating street rodders and other lesser species...
I'd be up for an ammo box right up as well. My Pop went out and got 2 a few years ago. Perfect size for tire chains.
here's a good start for the Seattle area HAMBers http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/pts/446139119.html
The catalogs are nice, too... Here's a post on my blog written when I was going crazy buying Plomb stuff.
Also, look at the craigslist offering...lower picture is of about a 1929 version of the tool set that came with early Fords right on through '48.
I need to start looking on craigslist more. Every time I go on and find something it is sold by 10 or 11 am. Are you guys waking up at the crack of dawn just to hop on craigslist. Damn you.
WTH for?? Don't you have kerosene lamps and a magneto? I'm happy with my deuce instrument panel lamp hooked to two wires as an analog multitester...light=continuity, dim=resistance, smoke=short, dark=tear the wires offa tester and use'em to replace that circuit. What more could you need? But you, you should have a cetane test rig to make sure your kerosene is safe to use...
I just have a small craftsman box covered in stickers and a mediumish tool kit. And a test light, and some good old carb cleaner and duck tape.
Damn Coop I think I just got another sickness...you just stepped up my anal retentiveness a notch. I have an early cloth handled wwII 50 cal box that will need to be filled with nothing less than Plomb and vintage tools. Thank you. Chris
The Jalopy Journal
